I’m so excited!! First of all, I went to my specialist on Tuesday to get the results. As some of you know, I was feeling rather apprehensive about this, but it turned out to be really good news! I don’t have EoE! Yahoo!! I feel really happy about it because I know that people who live with EoE have a difficult time – it involves a lot of scopes, a lot of diet management, and a lot of discomfort. So to hear that I didn’t have it was a relief.

What that does mean is that we’re still not sure. It looks like reflux may be the issue, but I’m trying some new medications to see if they make a difference. Then I need to go for a motility test which doesn’t sound overly enjoyable.

So that’s happy dance #1.

Happy dance #2 is for my first giveaway!!

The (amazing, wonderful, talented) Stephanie O’Dea sent me a couple of copies of this book:

Now, I like my slow cooker. Kind of a lot actually. I love the simplicity of it, the amazing meals that it makes, and how fast it usually is to clean up. After receiving More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow I decided that one slow cooker just wouldn’t cut it. Instead, I needed more. So I had Chef Husband buy a second one – a small 2 quart slow cooker for dips, and other recipes.

So far I’m made a bunch of recipes from the book including 2 in one day!

I’ve made:Apple Pecan Bread Pudding (without the pecans) Ranch Party Mix (already out. Must. Make. More. This is better than the Bits n’ Bites I remember back in the gluten day)Sweet and Savoury Pot Roast – Sauce = amazing!Pad Thai – even Mr Man loved it!Puffy Pizza Casserole – yum! Loved this!Triple Chocolate Cake – This lasted almost a week because we’re not big dessert eaters but holy man. I don’t even like chocolate cake and this was mind blowing.

And I have to say, so far, I have loved every recipe.

What I love About This Book1. The book uses ingredients that everyone would have! It doesn’t have fillers, shortcuts, or processed items. It uses stuff I mostly have in the pantry or the fridge.2. The recipes are FAST! I didn’t spend more than 10 minutes making a recipe and that one was the Puffy Pizza Casserole where I had to brown the beef first. My kind of book!3. All the recipes are inherently gluten free (but can be made with gluten if desired!) – I also have found it quite easy to convert recipes when needed. The Puffy Pizza Casserole we made dairy free. Pad Thai had no fish, Bread Pudding we made nut free and I made it dairy free as well. All were wonderful!

What I don’t Love About This BookNothing. I love it.

Why You Should Get itMy favourite thing is that the cook book is split into sections – under $7, under $10, and under $15. It’s very easy to make a great meal (often with leftovers) or an amazing dessert (that feeds a million people which may or may not be an exaggeration) without spending a lot of money.

Stephanie, you out did yourself! Thank you!!!

So, now the exciting part. I’m giving away one of these books!!

Here are the “rules”* You must live in Canada or the US (sorry international readers!)* To enter tell me what your favourite meal is to make in the slow cooker* To enter a second time, tweet about this giveaway on twitter* To enter a third time, share this giveaway with your friends on facebook!

I will make the draw in one week on Friday, March 16 at 5pm my time (Mountain Standard Time). That’s 7pm EST, 6pm PST.